THE ADRENAL BODIES 245 



organs by studying the effects of feeding animals with the 

 adrenal bodies or preparation made from them. 



Some years ago the present writer failed to observe any 

 immediate physiological effect upon dogs, cats, and rabbits, 

 after feeding with the adrenal bodies of sheep ; just as the 

 administration of large doses of extracts (in some cases made 

 from the medulla only) failed to produce any noticeable rise 

 in the blood-pressure in the human subject. D'Amato has 

 also shown that very large doses do not increase pressure, 

 although they may cause arterial degeneration. As we have 

 seen above, Leyton states that adrenal extract although 

 it ordinarily fails to produce elevation of blood-pressure when 

 administered by the mouth, will bring about this effect in cases 

 of Addison's disease. 



But the experiments about to be described are of a different 

 character. They involve the administration of comparatively 

 small doses of gland substances over a long period, in order to 

 test the effect upon the growth of the body as a whole, and the 

 reproductive organs in particular. R. G. and A. D. Hoskins 

 have carried out a series of experiments on white rats in which 

 certain of the young animals were fed with desiccated adrenal 

 gland * while certain others were kept as controls. Forty -five 

 rats were fed with adrenal body for varying periods of irom 

 two to nine weeks. Twenty-six animals from the same litters 

 were kept as controls. The rate of growth and the weights of 

 various glands were determined in each series. No differences 

 between the two series could be detected in the case of the 

 kidneys, heart, pituitary body, thyroid, thymus or adrenal 

 bodies. The spleens of the experimental series were somewhat 

 smaller than those of the controls, but highly variable in size. 

 The ovaries in the few cases studied were larger in the experi- 

 mental series. The testes (twenty-six experimental, thirteen 

 control) showed hypertrophy. These results are in confirma- 

 tion of the clinical evidence above stated, and indicate that the 

 adrenal bodies exercise a stimulating effect on the growth of 

 the testes in young animals. 



The authors of the communication just referred to discuss 

 the question as to what constituent of the gland the testicular 

 hypertrophy is due to. They conclude that it is in all pro- 

 bability to be ascribed to the cortical portion. But it is 



1 Parke, Davis & Co. 



